[WAL AUS] - A platform for success

Let me preface this blogpost with a caveat. The Welsh players last night were immense. However the half time tactical shift to a more stable centre mid partnership provided the basis for a win that didn't look likely at the break. I'll discuss the match in a chronological order, starting with Wales' struggles in the first half.

Wales lined up without the suspended Allen and club less Joe Ledley, with Coleman opting to start David Edwards in a more disciplined CDM role, and Tom Lawrence in an advanced left position.

1st Half

Click images for larger view. 

This is the scene from kick off as Austria have the ball. Wales' defensive shape is a 5-4-1 with Edwards obviously tasked with the job of marking Alaba. (Circled). Instantly the ball is played into Alaba in the channel and Edwards puts in a foot to break it up and the ball ends up with Hennessey.

Shortly after this Wales have their first foray into Austria's half and we can see Ramsey running forward, a sight which will not be repeated often in the first half. Bale picks up the ball in a dangerous area and Ramsey sprints past him, eventually going past bale and ending up inside the Austrian's box. (Right)


Below, Ramsey's (circled) starting position is more advanced than Edwards. The ball is played up to Vokes and Ramsey is high enough to be able to take the knock down and run with the ball resulting in a good chance.

This proves to be the last we see of Ramsey higher up as Austria get a foothold in the game. Wales are very compact as a unit, but every Wales player is in the Welsh half. When the ball is won, there is no outlet, and the attack breaks down, Austria recycle the ball and begin another attack. This was the pattern for much of the first half and was the main reason for Austrian dominance. Below we see how far back Wales have been forced, and every attack must start from such a deep position it is easy for the Austrians to win it back. In this example, Vokes(circled) tries to feed Lawrence on the right but it is snuffed out.
Wales to their credit defended very well, affording only a couple of chances.

Alaba started to see more of the ball, and Wales struggled to bridge the gap between a deep defensive shape and providing support to Vokes and Bale. The pictures below show Wales trying to mount an attack and in doing so being caught out of position as they try and give support to the Strikers. The distances between the players gives Austria huge gaps to run into with Wales scrambling to get back.
In the first picture, 6 Wales players are about to be caught on the wrong side of the ball. David Edwards is circled, and this is the first time Alaba gets a huge amount of pitch to move into. This is a very dangerous position for Wales, with 4 Austrians running at a flat back 4, a let off for Wales.


With Wales forced deep, and struggling to link midfield and attack, Austria start to press higher up, forcing Wales long.


Next we can see how deep Ramsey (circled) is now playing, and he also shows his reluctance to run with the ball knowing only Edwards remains behind him. Austria have Wales all marked up and Ramsey's attempt to Gunter is dealt with easily.


We then get a glimpse of Ramsey (circled) pushing higher and ends up through on goal, only for a foul to bring the attack to a halt. The ball is played up to Vokes who knocks it down to a running Ramsey. Wales haven't been able to win the second ball that high very often in the first half at all.

Below shows the last action of the half and explains why Ramsey (circled red) hasn't been able to get forward. Ramsey has ventured forward and Edwards is on his own in the middle. As a result Austria play it forward quickly to Alaba (circled blue) who has time to find a teammate out right who ends up with a shooting chance. Wales have done well to contain Alaba, who is clearly the danger man, but at a cost of their own attacking threat. So now we move on to the tactical switch which gives Wales the impetus they need.

2nd Half

Wales make a change of personnel and formation. King replaces Richards. Wales go to a 4-2-3-1 formation, with King and Edwards as the two in midfield.

It only takes a matter of seconds to see the changes working. Ramsey(circled red) is let off his chain and finds himself high up the field, only a timely interception prevents him from having the ball in the box. (Circled blue) King and Edwards already show their instructions as they sit and provide cover for the defence, and give the Wales attackers the ability to be more expressive without the concern of being caught on the break as in the first half. It takes Ramsey 7 seconds to run at a player with the ball, something he hardly managed first half. This isn't a criticism of Ramsey, it is a demonstration of how intelligent players react to a change in tactics. Just 30 seconds later. Ramsey is in the box again on the end of a cross.


Now it's Austria's turn to struggle to get out, with no options they are forced long and Alaba is about to see very little of the ball due to the triangle (highlighted) of Edwards, King and Ramsey.

A couple of minutes later, and Ramsey is running with the ball again. In the first picture we see the triangle mentioned before and in the second picture we see King and Edwards more concerned with their defensive role enabling Ramsey to charge forward, and win a free kick.

Next we see Ramsey (circled) recovering the ball high up the field, something he wasn't able to do during the first half. In the second picture we see how deep Alaba has had to drop to compensate.
Below we see the position King and Edwards start to take up, the introduction of an extra midfielder allows Wales to play in the Austrian half and this continues for the majority of the second half. In the second picture Ramsey(circled) is receiving the ball in space very high up the field. This is where Ramsey is at his best, and Coleman's tactical change is getting the best out of his number 10.
Austria are finding it increasingly difficult to mount an attack, much like Wales first half. They do manage a few break out's but this blog post is long enough. Below, we see how little space Alaba is being afforded by King and Edwards (circled red), constantly taking the ball from Alaba (blue). Even on the occasions Alaba manages to keep the ball, his options are so limited that the attack comes to nothing.
Here we see the return of the triangle, Edwards (Circled red) winning the ball off Alaba (Circled blue) again, and Ramsey already seeing Edwards winning the ball doesn't even wait for the pass before he starts his run forward. Something he would never have been able to do first half due to his more controlled role. Ramsey receives the pass and drives at the defence producing a good save.
Below are more images that illustrate how well Wales managed to dominate any Austrian advance. With Alaba (circled) being given no time on the ball. Every time Wales won the ball, it gave them the platform to build another attack either through Ramsey, Bale or Lawrence. There are countless examples of this happening, and it was only a matter of time before it produced a chance for a goal.
The below picture on the left, shows perfectly how tough Alaba found it second half. Ramsey, King and Edwards all surrounding him, and all of his teammates marked up there was little even a great player like him could do to create a chance. The game had been turned on its head, and now it was Austria who had to stretch themselves if they wanted to create a chance, with Wales waiting to take advantage of this.
Throughout all this time, Wales were winning the ball back quickly from the opposition, and were able to keep up a sustained period of pressure.

There were only a couple of occasions that Wales were caught out in the second half, one of those occasions came when Gareth Bale loses the ball midway inside his own half. With Gunter pushed up Wales are exposed at the back and Bale makes up for his error with a last ditch tackle. However what is noticeable during this quick passage is David Edwards' intelligence in covering for Williams.
As Austria attack, Williams (circled red) makes the decision to close down the Austrian attacker, as he steps out, David Edwards (circled blue) immediately drops in at CB.
Later on we see this happen on two more occasions. Both times Edwards sees Williams coming to win the ball and immediately provides cover for his teammate. This is one of the best parts of Williams' game, the ability to intercept attacks, but it is only made possible if he is confident that a player in front will cover his position. Seeing Edwards cover him only makes Williams more confident and repeats this trick on multiple occasions in the second half.

With Alaba stifled, Austria had no outlet, and the ball kept coming back at them with Ramsey at the heart of everything good. Below are a couple more examples of Wales winning the ball high up the pitch, once in the 72nd minute, and the next for the goal.

The freedom afforded by King and Edwards (out of picture) again allows Ramsey (circled right) higher up the field, and the ball falls to Woodburn (circled left) who rifles home. At international level it is these fine margins that determine a game, and in this case the tactical change that Coleman chooses gives a Welsh player the opportunity produce a bit of magic.